Should I Sue If I Sustained an Injury in a Gym in South Carolina?

Exercise is one of the best things we can do for our bodies, but it is also easy to get injured while exercising at a gym if we aren’t careful. Badly maintained equipment or incorrectly trained staff can all mean injuries for the patrons of the gym. If that happens to you, we want you to know that you may have a right to compensation. In that scenario, you may be able to recover from the gym for your injuries. Don’t hesitate to contact a Darlington County personal injury lawyer as soon as possible. With years of experience, we will do everything possible to get you the compensation you deserve.

What Are Common Gym Injuries and Why Do They Happen?

A number of physical injuries can happen at a gym, such as cardiac problems, wrist sprains, bone fractures, back injuries, and more. Unfortunately, these accidents can occur due to a wide variety of reasons, including:

• Unsafe gym conditions
• Badly maintained equipment
• Falling free weights
• Overexertion

What to Do After a Gym Injury

Make sure you get medical attention as soon as possible after a gym injury. It is important for your well-being, and having a medical record of your injuries will help should you choose to pursue a lawsuit. Let a gym employee know what happened.

Once you’ve tended to yourself, start keeping the most detailed records you can, particularly if you’re thinking about a lawsuit. Take a photo of the specific place where the injury happened. Ask people for identifying information, and if they are willing, interview them.

You may have signed a waiver before starting to work out at the gym. Regardless of whether you did or didn’t, do not sign a waiver now. Do be sure to reach out to a personal injury lawyer.

What May the Gym Argue in Their Defense?

In preparing yourself to bring a lawsuit, it’s a good idea to be familiar with common defenses gyms and other establishments may use in a personal injury suit.

Implied and Express Assumption of Risk

When courts talk about assumption of risk, they mean the understanding that a plaintiff knew and accepted the risks involved in going to a specific place and/or doing an activity.

Courts call it express assumption of risk when the gym tells you all about the risk and you affirm that you still want to do the activity. You might do so verbally or in writing.

Waivers are one way gyms argue that you expressly assumed the risk. Some frequently used waivers are waivers for negligence, waivers for intentional acts, and total waivers of liability. Courts may be reluctant to accept waivers for intentional acts, as these can be seen as against public policy; similarly, total waivers of liability can be seen as broad to enforce.

Conversely, courts call it implied assumption of risk when you know (or should have known) about the risks of a place or an activity, and nevertheless participate. If you use equipment despite the presence of warning signs around it, you may be said to have implicitly assumed the risk.